Magic need to turn team over to Oladipo

Oladipo in Rookie of Year chase against Carter-Williams

Victor Oladipo might become the first Magic player to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 13 years — and the third overall (Shaquille O'Neal and Mike Miller were the others).

Can he pass ROY favorite Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers?

We'll get to that possibility in a few more paragraphs.

Here's the larger point with Oladipo: The Magic are Victor's team now, whether the club has — or ever will — acknowledge it.

The Magic are trying to emulate the San Antonio Spurs' selfless approach, reluctant to publicly rank any player above the other.

I get it, but every team needs a leader, a driving force, a go-to spokesman. The Magic can embrace the fact that they not only picked the right player in the 2013 draft but also the right kid to take the reins from Jameer Nelson in the locker room.

Oladipo has just scratched the surface as an NBA player, for he needs to work on his shooting and ball-handling.

But he is exactly the guy they thought he'd be — on the floor and off it.

Oladipo's success or failure this season was the biggest story because a team simply cannot misfire on a top pick during a rebuild.

If Bennett hadn't bombed this season, the Cavs could have progressed into a playoff team in the weak Eastern Conference.

For teams such as Cleveland, Orlando and Philadelphia, scoring in the draft is critical, considering they aren't attractive destinations for free agents.

Finding a player who can be a building block and offer hope of winning might help lure a free agent to town. The Magic have that going for them with Oladipo, who has gained respect throughout the league.

The question is how much respect.

In the ROY chase, Carter-Williams has the slightly better numbers, the bigger media market and, presumably, an early lead built off a strong opening month. Oladipo has closed the gap in March.

Heading into Friday night's game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Oladipo is averaging 13.8 points, 5.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game this month. Carter-Williams is averaging 14.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists for the month.

As has been the case all season, Oladipo — looking to become the first Magic player to win the ROY since Miller (2001) — has played on a team with better and more experienced players, meaning he's shared the ball more with the likes of Nelson and Arron Afflalo.

Carter-Williams has essentially played with a D-League team, especially after the 76ers stopped all pretense of trying to win when they traded Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner.

Rookies are going to play for bad teams. It's the way the draft works.

Will voters give Carter-Williams any demerits for playing on a Sixers team that has tied the NBA's all-time losing streak with 26 consecutive losses?

The 76ers can break the record for futility Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons.

Of course, it's largely out of Carter-Williams' hands if the 76ers are tanking to historical proportions.

I asked Oladipo if Carter-Williams should be given the award considering all the losing and he said, "That's a good question," then launched into how neither he nor Carter-Williams is in control of the voting. My gut tells me the rookie in the larger media market will win.

Love is a battlefield

If the L.A. Lakers are willing to put together a package (so says ESPN) with their lottery pick to try to pry Kevin Love out of Minnesota, the Magic should be in that line as well.

We realize that Magic GM Rob Hennigan's thing is building through the draft, but Orlando should also exhaust all possibilities to improve. And that means offering up their lottery pick to the T'wolves for Love or any team that might have an available superstar.

There's no indication yet that Love, who played at UCLA, wants out and will forfeit money a la Dwight Howard.

Draft downgraded?

Now comes the part of the season when NBA execs curiously downgrade the heretofore terrific 2014 draft.

"There aren't any game-changers in the draft," Boston's Danny Ainge said. "There are a lot of nice players and players that we'll be excited to work into the development, but they're not going to come in and turn our team around in one year or two years."

Translation: Ainge is preparing fans for the possibility of the Celtics not getting a high pick.

And then there's the nonsense about Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins hurting their stock with early exits or subpar play in the NCAA Tournament. As a scout told me, "Kevin Durant's Texas team was knocked out early. He did OK."

This 'n' that

Mavs owner Mark Cuban believes the NFL could be doomed by shoving more TV football down people's throats. He obviously has pigskin envy. If there's one sure money-maker that Mark hasn't been able to get in on, it's pro football. ...

Says 76ers coach Brett Brown, telling it like it is: "No free agent is going to want to come to Philadelphia at this stage. Why would a good free agent want to come in and be a part of a rebuild?"…